This novel tells the story of a young Egyptian woman, born in 1967, growing up in the wake of Egypt's defeat of that year, and maturing into womanhood against the social and political upheavals Egypt experienced during the final decades of the 20th century. Physically and emotionally scarred by her parents and the events of her childhood, and incapable of relating to men, Nada, "Blue Aubergine", fumbles through a series of dark and unsettling adventures, resorting first to full Islamic dress with "niqab" and gloves, and then throwing it all off for the flowing hair and tight clothes of the emancipated young graduate student, in an ever more desperate and ultimately failed search for tenderness and affection. A frank assessment of the damage society wreaks by foisting unwise claustrophobic values on its children, this text shifts unpredictably through time and space. A mixed crowd of aunts and teachers, classmates and fellow students, Marxists and Islamicists are there to people Blue Aubergine's bewildering journey to the knowledge that the maintenance of chastity and innocence and her determination to cling to the threads of silk and lace that bind her to her past bring only misery and isolation.
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"This is a challenging and intriguing novel and shows that al-Tahawy is set to be one of the freshest writers of her generation." -- Richard Woffenden, The Cairo Times
About the Author
Miral al-Tahawy was born in 1968 in Sharqiya in the Egyptian Delta into a Bedouin family of the al-Hanadi tribe, the youngest of seven children. She earned her MA in Arabic language and literature from Cairo University in 1995.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I did not like it,
By NourHayati (GR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blue Aubergine (Modern Arabic Literature) (Paperback)
I did not enjoy that book much. I mean, there are some interesting points in the narration regarding the heroine's life, but the continuous change of persons (I, she) who tell the story is tiring. Nevertheless, the book is an example of modern arabic literature, but there are numerous other books that are worth buying and reading.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Special sauce recommendations!,
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This review is from: Blue Aubergine (Modern Arabic Literature) (Paperback)
Readings in Narrative was the course that -taught by Farah, Nurrudin (Winston Visiting Professor) I studied this novel and I recommend it.its really one of my best.the of course is based on Farah's selections, including recent "postcolonial" titles like Miral al-Tahawy's "Blue Aubergine," and Nega Mezlekia's "Notes From the Hyena's Belly," but also some European and American Farah favorites such as Graham Swift's "Waterland." Farah is a renowned Somali novelist, playwright, and essayist who writes in English. He has published ten novels and one nonfiction book, and has received numerous awards, including the English Speaking Union prize and the Neustadt International Literary prize.
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